Mandana Hajjarian, a 56-year-old housewife, holds the national record in blood donation.
“Every time I donate blood I feel very good about it,” says the amateur painter from Tehran who has donated the most blood in the country with 169 units.
She first donated blood at the age of fifteen to help one of the workers in her school who was pregnant and needed a blood transfusion, IRNA reported.
“After that I got into the habit of giving blood,” she said adding, “I think it’s critical that people donate blood not just when there’s a disaster but regularly, often, once or twice a year.” Every year on June 14, countries around the world celebrate World Blood Donor Day (WBDD). The event, established in 2004, serves to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products, and to thank blood donors for their voluntary, life-saving gifts of blood.
